36 Weeks!

So here we are, with approximately four weeks to go until Baby G makes his grand entrance into the world. It’s been a month since I last updated and a very busy one at that. ~~I will try to keep my update concise and to the point, though.~~

I had my first cervical check this morning (May 19). I am not dilated yet, but my cervix is soft and Baby G is head down, ready to rock ‘n’ roll. My doctor asked if I felt any difference in movements “now that his spine is facing outwards” and I answered, “Nope,” since this kid’s been facing like that for almost the entire time, hahaha. I do feel him constantly punching me “down there” with both fists, which is a leeeeettle uncomfortable to say the least, lol. I’ve also had some light lower back cramping on and off since Friday and my Braxton Hicks contractions have gone from being just at the top of my stomach to my entire stomach, including underneath my belly. I know that my body is starting to prepare itself and my hormones are beginning to change because Zoe has suddenly shown a big interest in me again. She was my shadow for the first trimester, then kinda “meh” towards me for months until this past weekend, when she’s suddenly everywhere that I am, day or night. It’s too funny.

I’m not nesting yet, but Jay & I are doing our best to prepare for Baby G’s arrival. The crib and dresser are set up, but the nursery isn’t decorated with all the bells and whistles yet. On May 4, we had our baby shower (that post is coming, I swear!), but it wasn’t until this past weekend that we started going through everything, breaking it into categories and putting it away. Now that I’ve had time to process everything and have 90% of my thank you cards done, I have fully begun to comprehend just how wonderful our friends and family have been to us. WE HAVE GOTTEN SO MANY AWESOME, AWESOME THINGS!!! I’ve finally got all of the clothing put away, but now I need to wash it. I decided I am going to wash it in increments, so I’ll start with all of the newborn stuff. After he’s born and we have a better idea of what will fit him, I’ll wash the 0-3 month clothing, then 3 month clothing, etc. That seems the most logical to me. Plus, I hate doing laundry now that it’s on the bottom floor of our three story townhome, haha.

We do still have some stuff that we need. Later this week, we are going to go to Babies R Us and purchase the remaining “big items” that are left such as the Pack ‘N’ Play (which he will be using to sleep in for the first few months that he is home, when he is in our room), the stroller frame (the car seat that comes with our jogger stroller will also fit into a lightweight frame and the car seat bases we’ll each have in our cars), the crib bedding (we haven’t decided if we are going to get it in store or order it from Amazon), possibly a crib mattress (Jay is concerned the one we have may be too soft, so we have to do a comparison with the ones in store), and a few other miscellaneous “nice to have” things, like a video monitor and nursing bras. Babies R Us sent us a 15% off coupon to purchase remaining items off of our registry, but it’s only good for a one time use, which is why we have to get as much as we can think of in the one trip. Certain things, like the car seat base, will still be cheaper for us to order off of Amazon, so I made a list yesterday to try to figure out what we need to buy still and from which vendor. Whew! There is waaaaay too much to think about when it comes to buying baby stuff. I’m sure I’m forgetting something, too. The most important things left, above everything else, is a car seat base and the Pack ‘N’ Play. They won’t let us leave the hospital without a car seat, lol, and we proooobably should have a place for him to sleep in our room when he gets home from the hospital, hahaha. Even then, we have alternative means for him to sleep.

Anyway, this post got way too long. Sorry about that. I need to stop doing that stream-of-consciousness thing when I write. Who even made it this far down, anyway? Here’s the rest of the latest info and some pictures. I can’t believe that within 5 weeks, we’ll probably (hopefully) have a baby. Aaaahhhhh!!!

Stats:

Weight gain: 23lbs. I’ve noticed that I tend to gain weight every other appointment. For example, between 31 & 33 weeks, I only gained half a pound, but between 33 & 35 weeks, I gained 3lbs. Between 35 & 36 weeks, it was half a pound again. I bet next week, I’ll have gained at least 2 more.
Bump: It’s still crazy to me how it changes shape and sizes constantly, depending on where he’s sitting and what time of day it is. (See pictures below.)
Hemoglobin: Thanks to the power of spinach, broccoli, and Jay’s grilling, my iron levels have remained up. Have I mentioned how much I dislike eating salad, haha?
Blood platelet count: They also went up and are over 100 again, so as of right now, we are good to go for an epidural if I want one. Fingers crossed my platelet count remains over 100.
Exercise: I’m slowing down a lot. Walking is uncomfortable at first, but once I push past the 30 minute mark, I’m okay. I aim for 60-90 minutes. As for Pure Barre, I have two classes left on my latest class pack and I’d really like to finish it out. That will take me to 150 classes, 52 of which were taken while I knew I was pregnant. Classes are getting challenging, though. Regular push-ups are okay, but I can’t do tricep push-ups anymore and forget any of the stretches. I’m way too big to bend over or reach forward. I also am barely doing any of the ab portions anymore, though that was to be expected.
Swelling: My fingers and ankles were very swollen during week 34. I had to stop wearing my rings in the mornings (oddly enough, they fit me by the end of the day) and my lack of definition between calves, ankles, and foot were a bit disturbing because I didn’t look like myself at all. On Mother’s Day, I went for a long walk and after that, the swelling in my lower body disappeared. It was the oddest thing. I think I kick started my circulation by moving around instead of laying down with my feet like, like I had been doing. My fingers, particularly my knuckles, remain a bit swollen, so Jay got me replacement rings last weekend. 🙂
Cravings: Sorry to disappoint, but I still haven’t had any weird food cravings at all. I did tell Jay that if I made it to 36 weeks, I was going to eat ice cream every night! I’m not letting myself go, just finally relaxing a little bit and enjoying myself. Mint chocolate chip for everyone!

Pictures:

I’ll drop a bunch on you since I’ve been taking them but not posting them. No one needs to see my bare stomach without warning, though, so they’re after the jump.

36 weeks:

Zoe cuddling with her brother at 32 weeks:

Jay reading to Baby G. We alternate between a wide variety of genres. He loves to hear Jay’s voice. Always moves around without fail.

33 weeks, taken April 28:

I’m a bit self-conscious about sharing the bare stomach pictures because I don’t think my bare stomach is very “cute” at all. I hope I don’t regret this, haha.

These are from 34 weeks, taken May 5:

35 weeks, taken May 12 or May 13:

36 weeks, taken May 17. My bump looks smaller because I took this shortly after I woke up and Baby G always “hibernates” overnight. I should take a first thing in the morning & right before bed comparison shot for my next blog post. It’s like looking at two completely different bellies. If you saw me in the afternoon/evening, you would call bullshit on some of these pictures, haha.